I.

The basic Verb Phrase

Contents:
– A first look at verbs
– The complements of lexical verbs
• Transitive verbs
• Intransitive verbs
• Ditransitive verbs
• Intensive verbs
• Complex transitive verbs
• Prepositional verbs
1. A first look at verbs:
– The basic sentence consists of a Noun Phrase
(functioning as subject) followed by a Verb Phrase
(functioning as predicate).
– The one constituent that a Verb Phrase (VP) must
contain is a verb (V). VPs are centred on V.
– 2 kinds of verb in English: LEXICAL &
AUXILIARY
– A full VP must contain a LEXICAL VERB and it – Một VP đầy đủ phải chứa ĐỘNG TỪ
may contain AUXILIARY VERBS. THỰC và nó có thể chứa TRỢ ĐỘNG TỪ.

– A first look at verbs: Lexical verbs

+ take VERBAL INFLECTIONS -s, -ing, -ed, -en.
+ In VPs containing only a lexical verb, that verb will
always carry a present or past meaning.
2. The complements of lexical verbs:
Phil dreads affectionate cats.
V VP
– Relation between the V (dreads) and the NP
(affectionate cats) is a head–complement relation. It’s
a two-way (mutual) dependency between the verb (as
head) and the NP (its complement).
 Phil sunbathed affectionate cats.
=> The presence of the NP depends on the type of
verb.
– Lexical verbs are sub-categorised according to what – Các động từ từ vựng được phân loại phụ
other elements must appear with them in the VP. theo những yếu tố khác phải xuất hiện cùng
với chúng trong VP.
=> They are sub-categorised in terms of what => Chúng được phân loại phụ về những
complements they demand. chất bổ sung mà chúng yêu cầu.
– Six sub-categories of lexical verbs:

– All VPs can include (optional) modification by a

PP.
Phil sunbathed beside a stream.
*Transitive verbs: *Ngoại động từ:
– A transitive verb is one which requires a single
Noun Phrase to complement it.
– Example: dread, make, spot, throw, inspect, etc.
– The NP that complements a transitive verb is said to – NP bổ sung cho một ngoại động từ được
function as its DIRECT OBJECT. cho là hoạt động như ĐỐI TƯỢNG TRỰC
TIẾP của nó.
– When the form of an NP is determined by its – Khi hình thức của một NP được xác định
complement relation with another constituent, it is bởi quan hệ bổ nghĩa của nó với một thành
said to be GOVERNED by that other constituent (in phần khác, nó được cho là ĐƯỢC ĐIỀU
this case, the verb). CHỈNH bởi thành phần khác đó (trong
trường hợp này là động từ).
NP a sister of the V

When an NP is the sister of a V bearing the [trans] Khi hình thức của một NP được xác định

feature, we know that the NP is functioning as bởi quan hệ bổ nghĩa của nó với một thành
DIRECT OBJECT. phần khác, nó được cho là ĐƯỢC ĐIỀU
CHỈNH bởi thành phần khác đó (trong
trường hợp này là động từ).

*Intransitive verbs: *Nội động từ:

– An intransitive verb is one that does not require any

further constituent as a sister in the VP.
– ‘Intransitive’ means ‘has (and needs) no
complement’
=> An intransitive verb counts as a complete VP in its
own right.
*Ditransitive verbs: *Ngoại động từ có 2 tân ngữ:
– Ditransitive verbs require TWO NPs as
complements.
William gave Millie some bleach.
Indirect Direct
Object Object
– INDIRECT OBJECT: the recipient or beneficiary of – INDIRECT OBJECT: người nhận hoặc
the action. người thụ hưởng hành động.
– DIRECT OBJECT: complements a transitive verb. – DIRECT OBJECT: bổ sung cho một động
 Type 1: từ bắc cầu.

 Type 2:
– The indirect object NP corresponds to a – Indirect object NP tương ứng với một cụm
Prepositional Phrase (PP) in a position following the giới từ (PP) ở vị trí theo sau tân ngữ trực
direct object. tiếp. (to Millie)
– The PPs that correspond in this way with indirect – Các PP tương ứng theo cách này với tân
objects are always introduced by either to or for. ngữ gián tiếp luôn được giới thiệu bằng
cách to hoặc for.
=> Indirect objects can take the form of either an NP => Đối tượng gián tiếp có thể có dạng NP
or a PP containing to or for. hoặc PP chứa to hoặc for.
=> PPs that correspond to indirect objects are part of => Các PP tương ứng với tân ngữ gián tiếp
the complementation of ditransitive verbs and need to là một phần bổ sung cho các động từ 2 tân
be represented as sisters of V within the basic VP. ngữ và cần được thể hiện như họ hàng của
V trong VP cơ bản.

*Intensive verbs: *Động từ chuyên sâu:

– Intensive verbs require a single complement, which – Các động từ chuyên sâu yêu cầu một bổ
can take the form of an Adjective Phrase, a Noun ngữ duy nhất, có thể ở dạng Cụm tính từ,
Phrase or a Prepositional Phrase. (Ex: the verb “BE” Cụm danh từ hoặc Cụm giới từ. (Ví dụ:
[the copula]) động từ “BE” [the copula])
– Example:
+ Ed is rather extravagant. (AP)
+ Sigmund was an auctioneer. (NP)
+ Oscar and the First Mate were in the engine room.
(PP).
– The complement of an intensive verb functions – Phần bổ sung của một động từ chuyên sâu
(more specifically) as a predicative (Example: có chức năng (cụ thể hơn) như một vị ngữ.
become, seem, appear, turn, remain, look, taste, feel,
smell, sound.)
– Predicatives are used to attribute PROPERTIES to
the things or people referred to by other expressions.
– Compare:
Sigmund was an auctioneer.
Sigmund spotted an auctioneer.
– [38] Max turned a subtle shade of green.
– [41] Tarzan felt a real idiot.
– [43] The hat became a very useful wastepaper
basket.
– [44] The captain sounds an absolute tyrant. 
=> These NPs function as predicatives
=> SUBJECT-PREDICATIVES
– An [INTENS] verb takes a subject-predicative.
– A [trans] verb takes a direct object.

*Complex transitive verbs: *Ngoại động từ phức:

– Complex transitive verbs take two complements: a
direct object (NP) and an object-predicative.
– The predicative can take the form of an AP, an NP
or a PP.
[48] Jack finds his own jokes extremely funny. (AP)
[49] They made Stella their spokesperson. (NP)
[50] Liza put the liquor under her bed. (PP)
– The predicative in a complex transitive VP
characterises (attributes a property to) the direct
object, not the subject => OBJECT-PREDICATIVE.

(a) Max found an amusing companion for Bill.

(b) Max found Bill to be an amusing companion.
*Prepositional verbs: *Động giới từ:

– Glance (at NP), reply (to NP), refer (to NP), listen
(to NP) and worry (about NP) are examples of
prepositional verbs – complemented by a
Prepositional Phrase.
– Three kinds of VP consisting of [V + PP]:
(a) V[intens] + PP. => The PP is a complement
(subject predicative);
(b) V[prep] + PP. => The PP is a complement
(prepositional complement);
(c) V[intrans] + PP. => The PP is an optional modifier
– Prepositional verbs are called ‘prepositional’
because they can only be complemented by a PP.
SUMMARY:

EXAMPLE
Phil dreads affectionate cat.
Transitive - dreads: ngoại động từ, cho phép tân ngữ theo sau Theo sau chỉ có duy
- Ngoại động từ - - affectionate cat: direct object hay hiểu đơn giản hơn nhất 1 direct object.
là tân ngữ theo sau ngoại động từ.
Intransitive Omar sighed. No complement
- Nội động từ - - sighed: nội động từ follows
 – Theo sau có 2
William gave Millie some bleach. object, chia ra là
- Millie: indirect object direct và indirect:
- some bleach: direct object + Indirect object:
Ditransitive
người nhận hoặc
- Ngoại động từ
William gave some bleach to Millie. người thụ hưởng
có 2 tân ngữ -
- some bleach: direct object hành động.
- (to) Millie: indirect object + Direct object: bổ
Note: Indirect object NP tương ứng với một cụm giới sung cho một động từ
từ (PP) ở vị trí theo sau tân ngữ trực tiếp. bắc cầu.
– Thường sử dụng
với động từ BE hoặc
LINKING VERBS
(become, seem,
Intensive
appear, turn, remain,
- Động từ chuyên Sigmund was an auctioneer.
look, taste, feel,
sâu -
smell, sound…)
– Theo sau thường là
danh từ hoặc cụm
danh từ.
Complex transitive
Complex* Jack finds his own jokes extremely funny. (AP) verbs take two
- Ngoại động từ They made Stella their spokesperson. (NP) complements: a direct
phức - Liza put the liquor under her bed. (PP) object (NP) and an
object-predicative.
The PP that
complements a
Prepositional
Max glanced at the falling acrobat. prepositional verb = a
- Động giới từ -
prepositional
complement.

The following may help in identifying the sub-categorised of verb in sentence.

II. AUXILIARY VERB PHRASES III. CÁC CỤM TRỢ ĐỘNG TỪ
Contents:
– Part I: Lexical and auxiliary verbs
• Tense and time
• The contrast between lexical and auxiliary verbs
• Modal auxiliaries (MOD)
• The perfect auxiliary – have (PERF)
• The progressive auxiliary – be (PROG)
• The passive auxiliary – be (PASS)
• Where auxiliaries fit in the structure of VP
• Auxiliary VPs and adverbials
– Part II: Constructions that depend on auxiliaries
• Passive sentences
• Negative sentences and auxiliary do
• Questions — fronting the tensed auxiliary
Part 1: Lexical and auxiliary verbs:
Every full (non-elliptical) VP includes a lexical verb Mọi VP đầy đủ (không phải hình elip) đều
and it may contain one or more auxiliary verbs. bao gồm một động từ thực và nó có thể
Primary auxiliaries Modal auxiliaries chứa một hoặc nhiều động từ bổ trợ.
be, have, do can/ could, will/ would,
shall/ should, may/
might, must, need
• Basic principles:
– A) it is always just the first verb – whether lexical or
auxiliary – that displays the tense distinction between
PRESENT and PAST;
– B) auxiliary verbs (if present) always PRECEDE the – B) trợ động từ (nếu có) luôn luôn ĐỨNG
lexical verb; TRƯỚC động từ thực.
– C) the form of a verb is determined by the verb that
precedes it
• Tense and Time
– Verb forms that are TENSED are traditionally called -> Finite verb: Động từ có ngôi, động từ
FINITE verb forms. giới hạn (thay đổi tùy theo chủ ngữ: She
– All other verb forms are NON-FINITE (not tensed). says, we say)
– Every sentence must contain a finite verb. -> Non-finite verb: Động từ không ngôi,
– In the absence of any auxiliary, it is the lexical verb động từ không giới hạn (I like to sing)
that is tensed (finite). -> Trong trường hợp không có bất kỳ trợ
động từ nào, động từ thực được chia thì
(theo infinite verb).

– English has just TWO tenses: Present and Past.

– Future time is expressible in a variety of ways but
there is no future tense.
– There is no simple correlation between the
grammatical category TENSE and the notion of
TIME.
[10] The boat leaves at ten tonight. (Present tense – – Không có mối tương quan đơn giản giữa
future time) phạm trù ngữ pháp TENSE và khái niệm
[11] If he gave me the bleach tomorrow, I’d use it. THỜI GIAN.
(Past tense – future time)
• The contrast between lexical and auxiliary verbs*
– In QUESTIONS, auxiliary verbs can move in front
of the subject NP. A lexical verb cannot.
– The NEGATIVE PARTICLE (not or n’t) can attach
to an auxiliary verb but never to a lexical verb. Example: Do you like to play sports?
– Auxiliary verbs never take an NP complement. => Do có thể lên trước, còn like thì không.
– When a verb follows a lexical verb, it can be Example: chỉ có don’t/ do not chứ không có
introduced by THE INFINITIVE PARTICLE to but take not
not when it follows an auxiliary verb. Example: theo sau trợ động từ là 1 động từ
He needs to go Example: to go là infinite particle
• Modal auxiliaries (MOD)
– MODALS are always tensed (finite). They do not
have untensed (non-finite) forms. => always come
FIRST in any sequence of verbs.
PRESENT: can, will, shall, may
PAST: could, would, should, might
*must and need don’t have a past tense form.
– MODALS never show subject-verb agreement.
– In a sequence of verbs, there can be only one modal
verb.

• The perfect auxiliary — have (PERF)

– Auxiliary have is described as the ‘perfect’
auxiliary. Perfect have is always followed by another
verb (ellipsis aside).
– Have provides a way of referring to past TIME
independently of past TENSE.
– The verb that follows perfect have always appears in
its (non-finite) PERFECT PARTICIPLE FORM.
– PARTICIPLE FORMS are non-finite.
– MOD before PERF before Lexical V.
• The progressive auxiliary — be (PROG)
– Progressive be demands that the following verb has
the (non finite) - ING form => the PROGRESSIVE Example: can have helped
PARTICIPLE
– PROG can co-occur with MOD, with PERF and – Theo sau PROG là 1 động từ mà theo sau
with both MOD and PERF: nó động từ đó là 1 động từ thêm -ing.
[38] You may be wondering about the future.
(MOD+PROG)
[39] Millie has been using the bleach. (PERF+PROG)
[40] Bill might have been teasing you.
(MOD+PERF+PROG)
– MOD before PERF before PROG before Lexical V Example: must have been waiting

• The passive auxiliary — be (PASS)

– Sentences that include the passive auxiliary verb be – Những câu bao gồm trợ động từ bị động
are said to be in the PASSIVE VOICE. được cho là ở dạng PASSIVE VOICE.
– Following passive be, a verb adopts the PASSIVE – Theo sau bị động be, một động từ sử dụng
PARTICIPLE FORM. dạng V3.

– PASS can co-occur with any combination of other

auxiliaries:

– MOD before PERF before PROG before PASS

before Lexical V.
• Where auxiliaries fit in the structure of VP
– Each auxiliary verb is the head of its VP and takes a
VP complement.

• Auxiliary VPs and adverbials

– Assumption 1. If an adverbial precedes a verb, • Trợ động từ và cụm trạng từ
assume it modifies the following VP. - Assumption 1: Nếu một cụm trạng ngữ
đứng trước một động từ thì có nghĩa là nó
bổ nghĩa cho VP tiếp theo.
– Assumption 2. Assume sentence-final - Assumption 2: Assume that sentence-final
that
adverbials modify (and form a VP constituent with) adverbials modify (and form a VP
the lexical VP. constituent with) động từ thực.

One exception to assumption 2: TIME ADVERBIALS CỤM TRẠNG TỪ THỜI GIAN

– Kim and Peter are going to India next week now.
Part 2: Constructions that depend on auxiliaries:
• Passive Sentences
Max was fired by the boss.

Otto was driven mad by the noise.

– With ditransitive verbs, it is always the first object

that becomes subject in the passive (leaving the other
object in position).
[82a] Max sent the boss an anonymous letter. (NP +
NP: iO + dO)
=> [82b] The boss was sent (•) an anonymous letter.
[83a] Max sent an anonymous letter to the boss. (NP +
PP: dO + iO)
=> [83b] An anonymous letter was sent (•) to the boss.
• Negative sentences and auxiliary do
– The negative particle not is placed immediately after
the tensed auxiliary.

• Questions — fronting the tensed auxiliary

Could Simon have written these words?

Hasn’t Oleg been arrested?

• More on have and be
– Have can behave like an auxiliary or like a lexical
verb even when it is functioning as a lexical verb. All
the following are grammatical:
– Functioning as a lexical verb, behaving like a lexical
verb:
[99a] Do we have any garlic?
[99b] We don’t have any garlic.
– Functioning as a lexical verb, behaving like an
auxiliary:
[100a] Have we any garlic?
[100b] We haven’t any garlic.
– Be is more regular in its irregularity: it always
behaves like an auxiliary – whether functioning as
auxiliary or lexical.
[101a] Was Kubla extravagant?
[101b] Kubla wasn’t extravagant.
SUMMARY
PP
 A